Do you have questions about life changes? Emotional concerns? Relationship issues? Spiritual matters? Send your questions to The Psychic Counselor, Lynda Hilburn, and check back here for your answers. Or you can read through the previous posts (check the Archives) to find answers you didn't even have questions for! LyndaSoul@aol.com. [*LyndaSoul isn't my name -- it's the combo of my first name with the first word in the name of my hypnotherapy training school.]

Monday, January 15, 2007

Frustrated Writer

Lynda:I have been a writer for over 15 years. While I have been published in both fiction and non-fiction, it is never steady and has not yet become my working "career." I know in my heart that it is what I am supposed to do, yet it feels like this goal is getting farther and farther away from me. If the Universe wants me to be a writer, why do they make it so blasted hard? Do you feel that this is my path, and that it will get easier? If so, when? Because I'm about to give up, which saddens me deeply.Thanks!A in WA

Dear A:I might have a different take on things than you do, so just use what helps and discard the rest. I don't believe the Universe has any particular plans for anyone -- the Universe doesn't make anything hard/easy. I think you're the chooser. Or, rather, your beliefs, intentions, patterns, habits of thought, and paths of least resistance do the choosing for you. You're probably highly influenced by all the limiting beliefs floating in consensus "reality" about how hard it is to be a full-time writer. Or maybe, how hard it is to be a writer at all! It certainly feels challenging to swim against that tide. I know lots of writers who make a living and write full-time. Now, having said that, I'll say that I know hundreds more who do it part-time and who don't count on it to pay all the bills. And, there are even more who have toiled for years and haven't sold anything yet. Something I've noticed is that my full-time writing friends are stressed out. Unless, of course, they share expenses with someone so the bulk of the responsibility isn't on her/his shoulders.

Why in the world would you even THINK of giving up if this is your heart path? Who could know your heart path better than you? And what does "giving up" mean? Do you mean you won't write anymore? Can you do that? There is no "supposed to," there is only "I choose/I desire." Perhaps it is time to get clear on your desires. The notion of being a successful writer is very ambiguous. How would you know if you achieved it? What would it look like? I get the sense that you're pushing against something. Is there a change you need to make? A shift in the kind of things you're writing? A letting go of rules that don't apply? What do you really want?

I put out a Tarot spread about your writing and here's what I got (in a nutshell): Take a risk. Stop writing according to anyone else's ideas of what constitutes good writing or success. Some emotional issues are still impeding your process. Take a new direction. Get passionately pissed off and put it in your writing. An unexpected, very positive thing is heading your way (at your request, conscious or unconscious). Make a new plan. Set some new goals. Take compassionate ownership. Close the book on the pre-2007 writer and open a fresh one.